BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - A 17-year-old Alabama girl forced into prostitution was rescued and three pimps arrested during a week-long, nationwide sex-trafficking operation, the FBI announced Monday.

Also in North Alabama, which stretches from Birmingham to Huntsville, lawmen rescued a six-week old baby and identified 14 adult women, some of who had been forced into prostitution since they were juveniles.

"Sex trafficking of children is one of the most violent and unconscionable crimes committed in this country,'' said Richard D. Schwein Jr., special agent in charge of the FBI's Birmingham division. "There are few law enforcement missions more important than protecting our nation's children."

Operation Cross County VIII was carried out in 106 cities across 54 FBI field divisions. Lawmen recovered 168 children who were being victimized through prostitution, and arrested 281 pimps on state and federal charges.

The operation is part of the Innocent Lost National Initiative, an ongoing effort targeted the criminal enterprises of commercial sex trafficking that was launched in 2003.

FBI officials said they removed the 17-year-old girl from victimization, arrested the three suspect pimps and identified four other pimps. The adult women ranged in age from 19 to 34. The infant girl was not being prostituted, authorities said.

Authorities have not released the names or charges against those pimps, and only gave a general area of North Alabama as the location of the recovery and arrests.

The agencies that took part in the efforts in Alabama were Birmingham, Vestavia Hills, Pelham, Hoover, Moody, Huntsville and Madison police departments, as well as the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, and the Shelby County and Madison County sheriff's offices.

Authorities made contact with the victims through undercover agents and detectives. The women and girls were offered services, such as housing, counseling, and medical assistance and given bags containing necessary personal items through the FBI's Victim Witness Assistance Program.

To date, authorities have recovered nearly 3,600 children from the streets. The investigations have yielded 1,450 convictions. Of those convictions, 14 resulted in life sentences and the seizure of more than $3.1 million in assets.

Investigators say the operations usually start out as local enforcement actions that target truck stops, casinos, street "tracks" and website advertise dating or escort services.

Among the 168 rescues in Cross County VIII, 11 victims were recovered in Atlanta, 18 in Denver, 16 in Cleveland, 13 in Chicago and 10 in Los Angeles.

"Targeting and harming America's children through commercial sex trafficking is a heinous crime, with serious consequences,'' FBI Director James B. Comey said in a prepared statement. "Every child deserves to be safe and sound. Through targeted measures like Operation Cross Country, we can end the cycle of victimization."